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1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to entertainment devices such as Flying toys. The invention is more particularly related to flying toys that are tethered to a fixed point so as to move in a circular pattern.
2. Discussion of Background
Toy airplanes that fly around a centrally located pylon have been very popular with children. For the most part, such toy airplanes have included complex mechanical linkages to obtain simulated flying of the toy airplane. In other cases, the propeller was driven and the wings provide the necessary lift to fly the airplane. In some such toy airplane systems, one motor is utilized to rotate the tethered airplane with another motor utilized to control the propeller of the airplane.
The present inventors have realized that current propulsion systems for flying toy devices can be improved via the use of an enclosed air propulsion system. The present invention includes the addition of a simulated fan jet type enclosed propulsion system mounted in the body of a flying toy.
The enclosed simulated fan jet is a safe propulsion system compared to rotating propellers or other devices known in the prior art. The improvement provides propulsion for the flying toy without exposed moving parts, and provides an element of a xe2x80x9cjet agexe2x80x9d high tech to the flying toy. In one embodiment, the simulated fan jet propulsion system is the only propulsion of the flying toy. In another embodiment, the simulated fan jet propulsion system is an auxiliary or supplemental propulsion system.
The present invention is embodied as a flying toy apparatus, comprising, a toy device having a tether mount receptacle, and an embedded simulated fan jet apparatus configured to propel the toy device. Furthermore, the embedded simulated fan jet may be composed of a simulated turbo fan mounted on bearings, a motor coupled to the simulated turbo fan and configured to rotate the simulated turbo fan, an energy reservoir for supplying fuel to said motor, and the toy itself includes at least one air channel configured to direct air from an output of the simulated turbo fan toward a back end of said toy device. In one embodiment, the energy reservoir is common battery power, and the toy includes a battery holding mechanism configured to hold batteries for powering the embedded simulated fan jet and having positive and negative terminals that are On/OFF switchably connected to corresponding terminals on an electric motor.